Whether you use a chic, modern drying rack or an old-fashioned strung-up clothesline, drying your cloth diapers outside is an excellent way to save money, keep your diapers in tip-top shape, and remove stains all at once. Not only that, but your diapers will smell wonderfully fresh when you bring them back inside.

Sixty percent of your energy usage and cost related to cloth diapering comes from using the dryer. By using a clothesline, you not only save money but you reduce your environmental footprint.

Line-drying is a great way to keep your diapers in great shape, too, especially if you have diapers with elastic or waterproof outers. These diapers are certainly designed to be dried in the dryer, but years of dryer use can degrade the synthetic fabrics. By line drying your fabrics, you will prolong their life and keep them working and looking their best.

Sunlight is also great for your diapers. Not only will the UV rays in sunlight bleach out your toughest stains, but they will also brighten your diapers and disinfect them. (Diapers don’t need to be disinfected after being washed, but every once in a while it’s just nice to have the peace of mind knowing they are absolutely clean.) This is also another way to save a few bucks – by utilizing the sunlight, you won’t have to buy laundry additives to remove stains.

And best of all, your diapers will smell wonderfully fresh after a day in the sun. There’s a reason various laundry product manufacturers have given their detergents names reminiscent of fresh air and sunshine – it makes laundry smell great!

So, with all these great reasons to line dry, here are a few tips:

*For the best stain removal, lay the diapers in a place where they’ll have the most sun all day.  We’ve found the most effective method for stain removal is to hang your diapers out when they’re wet out of the washer.

*Prefolds can sometimes feel stiff if they’re left out for long periods of time. To prevent this, either take them off the line right when they’ve finished drying or toss them in the dryer on a no-heat setting for ten minutes when you bring them inside.

So, consider hanging out your next few loads of laundry – you’ll brighten your diapers, remove stains, and save money, completely naturally and without any chemicals!

If you have more questions about diaper laundry, post a comment here or consider attending one of our popular Cloth Diaper 101 workshops where you can have your questions answered in person by one of our diapering experts.

NEWS:  For families in BC, you can earn $75 from BC hydro by reducing your energy consumption.  So beyond the actual savings of line drying, here is your bonus!  More details here.

We’ve all been there – who among us hasn’t used Ziplocs or plastic grocery bags to schlep home our dirty nappies? But plastic has its limits and is environmentally unfriendly in the long term. What to do?

While plastic is great in a pinch, an honest-to-goodness wetbag makes a huge difference – and they keep their value long after your last child is out of diapers.

Wetbags and diaper totes are exactly what they sound like – bags to carry wet items. They come in various sizes, offer various closures, and have various designs.

During the diapering years, wetbags make a big difference in being able to easily (and fashionably!) carry your dirty diapers while out and about – they are truly an indispensable tool. They will be one of the hardest working members of your cloth diaper family. We definitely recommend having two or three on hand so that you always have a clean one to toss in the diaper bag while the others are in the wash.

As your children transition out of diapers, a wetbag is easy to carry with you in case your child needs to change clothes.

Later, they work fabulously for wet swimming suits, dirty laundry on sleepovers and road trips, or even an emergency travel pillow on an airplane. You can even use them yourself for gym clothes!

Basically, a wetbag is a sturdy, long-term use item that will long outlive its diapering duties.

Here is a rundown of the Bummis Fab Wet Bag sizes and potential diaper-related functionailty:

• Bummis Small Fab Wet Bag – great for 1-3 diapers, or a bunch of wipes or a clean diaper, wipe and outfit change, has a zipper closure and snapped webbing handle to hang it on handles and hooks of all sorts.
• Bummis Medium Fab Wet Bag – as above, but will hold 4-6 diapers.  This would be great if the intention is longer out trips, overnights or if you plan to use this later for daycare.  One to store clean gear and one to store dirties.

Other than diaper duty, what have you used your wetbag for? Share your experiences and inspire other moms!

I know, I know.  We’ve been talking a LOT about this stuff.

But it works, it really works!

Want some, don’t you? Click here to grab a coupon code.  It’s only valid until Sunday and our stock will go fast.

Try it and then come back to us and tell us how much you love it.

“Does it matter what kind of detergent I use?”

This is one of the most common questions asked at our Cloth Diaper 101 workshops by new and expectant parents.

The answer is “yes,” but that doesn’t mean you’re specifically limited to a specific detergent. You just need to know what’s in the detergents you buy to determine their long-term effectiveness on your diapers. Since detergents that have fabric softeners, enzymes, or other additives can lead to residue build-up and leakage issues, it’s both helpful and necessary to know what ingredients make up your favorite laundry products. While we wholeheartedly vote for Rockin Green as THE detergent to use for cloth diapers, there are others that may work for you, too.

Enter the Detergent Determinator. This is a handy little tool put out by the Real Diaper Industry Association and for the most part, it’s quite helpful.

The strongest feature of this database is the customizable search function. You can search either by detergent name (e.g. Tide) or by detergent type. For example, you can search for a detergent that doesn’t have fragrance, is in liquid form, is suited for high efficiency washers, and is available in Canada. Once you receive your search functions, you can scroll through the list to compare and contrast the results according to their additives.

The only downside we’ve been able to find is that it’s not always easy to get search results by a name search. For example, we typed in “7th Generation” with no results, then “Seventh Generation” with no results, and finally just “Generation,” which finally populated a list and we realized that their exact spelling of the name is “Seventh (7th) Generation.” It also didn’t find every detergent we searched for, but overall we were very pleased with the thoroughness of the dozens upon dozens of detergents it does include in its database.

If you’d like to know what’s in your detergent or if you’d like to figure out which detergents will work best for you, check out the Detergent Decision Tool!

Some may say that using cloth diapers when out in the wilderness is difficult, but given a bit of forethought and planning, it’s actually quite straightforward. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

What you’ll need:

Your diapers: Decide whether you want to wash diapers in the campsite or if you want to save everything for once you get home. Take along as many diapers as you normally use each day, plus two extra per day. You don’t want to run out! (Children also tend to drink more when they’re outdoors all day.)  Organic prefolds are definitely the most space-efficient and easiest to wash, with pockets as a close second.

Wipes: Calculate 1-2 wipes per change, so 2-3 dozen should cover your three day trip.

Suds: If you want to wash in the campsite, also pack some detergent. Rockin Green Laundry Detergent is biodegradable and camp-friendly.

Rope: You’ll need a clothesline! You can include clothespins if you so desire.

Campsite Storage: Bring a wetbag or waterproof pail liner large enough to hold all your dirties.  Or if you are car camping (and have space) you can bring a small rubbermaid tote to use as your diaper pail.  If you are in bear country make sure you are “bear aware” and either store your dirty diapers in your car or hang them from a bear pole, or something similarly safe. A small wetbag will help you manage your system if you do day hikes or spend time away from your campsite. This will provide you with an easy way to transport the dirties back to camp.

A basket, tote, or backpack: Keeping your clean diapers organized will keep you sane. If you’re car camping, stack them neatly in a basket or laundry tote. If you’re backpacking, group them in large Ziploc bags to keep them dry and pack them in your backpack. (In the backcountry, you have to pack out whatever you pack in anyway, including garbage, so using cloth rather than disposables is actually easier AND lighter. Bonus!)

It’s Change Time!
If there’s poop, deal with it before you put the diaper in the dirties’ bag. In camp, dump it in the outhouse. In the backcountry, bury it as you would your own.

With urine-only diapers, either toss directly in the bag or if it’s going to be several days before a wash, rinse them first. You can do this in any running water that is downstream from other campers (n.b. NOT a lake) – and in the backcountry, if you’ve got time to let them dry, you’ll lighten your load considerably.

How to wash in camp:
Take your diapers to the nearest stream or collect fresh water in a bucket. Sprinkle soap on the diaper and scrub away. (Again, if you’re at a stream, make sure you’re downstream from your water supply and other campers.) Then hang the diapers with any stains facing outward and you’ll have nicely sun-bleached diapers ready for use in a few hours. If you’ve got the luxury of time, hang two diapers together – they’ll dry more slowly but they won’t be so “crunchy” when they’re done.

A wash routine when you return home:
If you bring home several days-worth of diapers to wash, you don’t have to do much differently than your normal routine. Make sure you do a cold rinse cycle at the beginning, and throw in a ¼ cup vinegar in the final rinse cycle – this will both soften your diapers and help to rinse out any detergent.  They’ll be as good as new!

There – that’s all there is to it. Now you’ve both “saved” the environment and enjoyed the environment all at the same time.

We’ve been talking a lot lately about diaper pails, and one of the most common questions we hear from cloth diapering parents – or those considering it – is how to keep a diaper pail fresh. Let’s face it- we’re dealing with what comes out of your baby here.

“How is it possible that my house won’t smell like an outhouse?” many parents wonder. Well, wonder no more, as keeping your pail fresh is quick and simple. (And considering this is such a common question, check out our previous posts on the subject, too….)

1. Deodorize.
•    Pail Pals – These discs get taped right to the underside of your lid and have a pleasant, deodorizing scent. They last 3-4 weeks and are über-cheap.
•    BumGenius Odour Remover – This spray is naturally anti-microbial, non-toxic, and biodegradable. Just spray it on each diaper before it goes in the pail (or on fresh pet stains or the kitchen garbage can, for that matter!)
•    Bamboo charcoal – For a scent-free, environmentally-friendly, reusable option that absorbs odours rather than just masks them, bamboo charcoal is THE option. It can be “refreshed” every week or two by setting the charcoal in the sun and it will last up to six months. After that, it is completely compostable. We LOVE the bamboo charcoal option!
•    Tea Tree Oil or other essential oils (e.g. lavender) –  tea tree oil is available widely at drug stores, natural health stores, and supermarkets. Other essential oils can be found at natural markets and aromatherapy shops. Whichever oil you choose, just shake a few drops onto a strip of cloth (perhaps a cloth wipe?) and place it in your diaper pail.
•   Baking soda – Put ½ a cup or so at the bottom of your pail or liner to absorb odours. It will also act as a fabric softener when you dump everything into the washing machine!

Also, keep in mind that because you’re not wrapping your diapers in plastic or sealing them away in an airtight container, you’re allowing air to get to the diapers and that actually HELPS keep the smell down. This might be counter-intuitive, but even just the bit of air that gets through under the lid keeps the proliferation of bacteria to a minimum and thus minimizes the smell as well.

2. Of course, the most important part of keeping your pail fresh is actually doing the laundry! While we recommend doing laundry every 2-3 days, we definitely recommend not leaving your diapers sitting for more than four. At that point, the uric acid and other lovely substances in the waste begin to break down and start a tango of un-luscious smells that will exponentially increase and become harder and harder to harness…

3. Lastly, once you’ve tossed everything in the laundry, don’t forget to give your pail a quick wipe down. This will ensure that the whole process starts off as fresh as possible once again.  Have you read our 30 Second Solution?

So, what’s your favourite way of keeping your diaper pail (and house!) fresh and clean?

Question: Why should you use a diaper pail liner? Answer: To simplify your life!

Question: Why should you skip a diaper pail liner? Answer: To keep the number of diapering accoutrements you use to the absolute minimum.

There are only two differences between using a pail liner and not – with a liner you can easily dump all the dirty diapers into the wash without touching them and without a liner you just have to be a bit more thorough in making sure your pail is good and clean before you use it again. Other than that, it’s all a matter of preference.

On the “pro-liner” side, a good diaper pail liner is somewhere in the $20-30 range and to be honest, two is better than one (just so you can use one while the other is being washed). In our opinion, it’s well worth the extra bucks for a product you’ll use for years to come and that will simplify your laundry routine.

On the other hand, depending on your preference and depending on where you keep your diaper pail (right next to the washer, for example), a pail liner may not be the solution for you for keeping things simple – and we’re all for simple. Once your diapers are in the wash, you just need to do a very thorough rinse of your pail, spritz it well with a 50% vinegar/50% water solution, wipe it down two or three times (and throw the cloth in the washer), then let it air dry – if you have time and opportunity to do the dry in the sun (nature’s best bleach and disinfectant!), all the better.

Basically, the choice is yours – here’s to keeping life simple!

P.S.  We have what might seem like a quirky request.  We all know that we love to see photos of how everyone else does things, in this case, diaper pails, plus or minus liners.  Join in and share.  Snap a shot of your diaper pail setup and post it up on our FaceBook page.  We know there are parents there (like us) that would love to take a gander at your setup!

Some may say that cloth diapering twins or multiples must be too much work. But never fear! It’s easier than you think – it’s just a bigger load of laundry.

All the same “rules” apply to cloth diapering twins that apply to singletons:
-count on about 24-30 diapers per child (+ 6 covers if needed),
-use a pail with a liner so you can just dump them in the washing machine without any other work involved,
-and wash every 2-3 days.

The only difference is that it might be a good idea to have a few extra diapers on hand to give yourself more wiggle room between washes – say closer to the 30 mark per baby. You might also want to make sure you have an extra-large diaper pail to accommodate the extra diapers (or two pails in two different locations…. feel free to be creative.)  From talking to parents of multiples, we’ve learned that often twins (or more) are more on a routine schedule and may eat more regularly (ie every three hours) which helps to predict diaper changes more easily.

We also recommend choosing diapers that are easy-to-use and easy to have ready for diaper changes, just to keep life extra easy and to be extra nice to those who are giving you a hand with the extra baby care!

If you want a diaper that goes on in one step and doesn’t need a separate cover, check out Fuzzi Bunz diapers. The Fuzzi Bunz XS pocket diaper or the TiniFit All-in-Ones are extra appropriate choice because they both fit smaller babies – as multiples tend to be – all the way down to four-five pounds. (And talk about a cute diaper on a tiny little bum – oh my goodness.)  The big difference with these two:  Fuzzi Bunz are a tad smaller and have snaps.  Tini Fits have a velcro closure and pack a lot of absorbency with a relatively trim fit.

If, on the other hand, you’d like the most budget-conscious choice or you want to have as many natural fibres up against your babies’ skin, consider preemie-size organic prefolds and newborn-size Super Brite covers. These will make your life easy if you have a few preloaded ready for diaper changes. Merely fold the prefold in thirds and lay it in the cover. The diaper is then ready to use.  Having 6 covers per baby will allow you to “pre-load” several covers so they are ready to go when needed.

Oh, and don’t forget, if you want to use prefolds, the best way to stock up on them is with the Bummis Organic Cotton Diaper Kit. It has everything you need and offers great savings.  Note:  The Bummis Kit comes with prefolds that we find work best on babies at 8lbs+).

Both pocket diapers and the prefold/cover combo are great for adapting to large wash loads, as well. These types of diapers wash thoroughly and dry quickly, hopefully only requiring you to do two or three loads of laundry a week – the same as if you were cloth diapering only one child!

Cloth diapering twins is completely doable. We hope the rest of your adventure with your multiples is just as marvelous!

So, perhaps you’re new to cloth diapering or even just starting to consider it, or perhaps you’ve been using cloth for years but want some new ideas for your washing routine. Either way, washing isn’t what it used to be – it’s fast, it’s easy, and in most situations you never even have to touch the dirties. (Unlike the grandmother in our picture, who undoubtedly spent hours with her hands in the wash bin to get her diapers clean and white…)

There are just three steps to getting clean, ready-to-use diapers:

First, get yourself a big pail with a lid – you don’t need any specially-designed “diaper pail,” just anything with a lid will do. In many of the New & Green mamas’ homes, all you’ll find is a standard garbage bin with handles that flip up to keep the lid in place. You see, nothing special. Inside that pail, place a waterproof pail liner – this is what makes the process especially easy. Now your diaper pail is set up and waiting.

The second step is the diaper change itself. If there’s only pee on a diaper, there’s no need to do anything special – just toss that diaper in your pail. If there are any solids, simply knock them off into the toilet and then toss the soiled diaper into the pail.  Note:  Poop from a breastmilk fed baby is not considered “solids” and does not need any special treatment. Just throw it in the pail with the peed on diapers!

After two or three days, it’s laundry day!

Take the liner with all the dirty diapers in it to the washing machine. Dump everything into the machine, followed by the bag, then do a rinse on cold, a wash on hot (with detergent), then toss everything in the dryer or hang them up to dry – and you’re done! There need not be anything more to a regular washing routine than that. And you didn’t have to touch the dirty diapers since the time they were taken off the bum of your wee one!

Beyond routine, the only other considerations when it comes to diaper laundry are detergents and the added cost on your utility bill due to the increased energy usage.

Regarding detergents, there are a few detergents recommended by diaper manufacturers, which you can read more about on our “Diaper Care” page. And while there are a few no-no’s when it comes to which detergents to use, don’t let the decision stress you out. You won’t ruin your diapers by using the “wrong” detergent – the worst that can happen is that residue from some detergents will stay behind on your diapers and cause them to leak. In that case, throw some vinegar in a Downy ball, add it to your next few loads to strip off the residue (the diapers won’t smell like vinegar – we promise), then switch detergents and your diapers should be good as new.

As for the added energy costs, we find that the average for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland is an additional $15 on your utility bill each month if you use both the washer and the dryer for each load, assuming you wash every two days. If you don’t use the dryer, the you’ll drop your cost per month closer to $5-6.

Do you have a routine that works for you?

For many urbanites, apartment dwelling involves a shared laundry room, coin operated machines, and designated time slots for using the washers and dryers. Can families really still manage cloth diapering in these circumstances? The answer is a resounding “yes, oh YES!”

Dealing with cloth outside of one’s own suite may seem like a nuisance, not to mention expensive when you’re shelling out coins in hand. In reality, it’s quite easy and the cost is usually comparable, if not less, than paying for the extra energy usage on your monthly utility bill.

Here are four tips for using cloth when you don’t have insuite laundry:

Choose diapers that unfold or come apart to wash easily and dry quickly. Pockets, prefolds, and flats are great options for this. If you use fitteds or all-in-one’s, choose ones that have multiple, separated layers for ease of washing and drying.

Sign up for time slots or make your schedule to allow you to wash every two or three days. If you can’t get three slots a week, try to sign up for two slots that are 3 ½ days apart, such as a Monday evening and a Friday morning.

Consider line drying. Since most laundry-room machines are coin operated, line drying will certainly save you $$$. If you’ve got the room either in your suite or in your building’s laundry room, give it go. Inexpensive drying racks can be found at Ikea or any hardware store or mass merchandiser.

Do a short cold wash cycle first or choose your own rinse. The fact that many coin-op machines can’t do an isolated rinse cycle adds unwanted cost and time to the washing process. If you prefer to avoid this cost, consider two cheaper and faster ways of rinsing your diapers (and of course, as always, it is preferable that you knocked off all solids into the toilet at the time you changed the diaper!):

In the diaper pail – Place the diaper pail in a large laundry sink or bathtub. Fill with cold water and swish with a stick. (This is a great use for an old gDiaper swish stick or consider investing $1-2 in a 1/2”– 3/4” dowel.) Pour out as much water as you can, then dump all the contents into the washer and start your normal hot wash. This method requires a strong back, but ensures that you never have to touch the dirty diapers!

In a laundry sink – Dump the dirty diapers from your pail into a large laundry sink, fill with cold water, and agitate them with a stick or with your hands. Drain the water from the sink, pressing on the diapers as the water empties. Toss the diapers directly from the sink into the washer and wash on hot with detergent. Presto change-o, you’re done!

With a bit of planning and some considerations about how to save even more money with cloth diapers, laundering in a shared laundry or a coin-op laundry is definitely do-able.

Are you are a “no in-suite cloth diapering family”?  What is your best strategy for making it work for your family?